Eben Holden: A Tale of the North Country — John Shaqi
Eben Holden: A Tale of the North CountryBacheller, Irving
General
Eben Holden: A Tale of the North Country
Bacheller, Irving
Farm life -- Fiction; Historical fiction; New York (State) -- Fiction
'It hed been rainin' a week in the mount'ins. Thet night the lake rose
a foot er more an' 'fore mornin' the cage begun t' rock a teenty bit as
the water lifted the plank. They slep' all the better fer thet an' they
dreamed they was up in a tree at the end uv a big bough. The cage begun
t' sway sideways and then it let go o' the shore an' spun 'round once er
twice an' sailed out 'n the deep water. There was a light breeze blowin'
offshore an' purty soon it was pitchin' like a ship in the sea. But the
two squirrels was very tired an' never woke up 'til sunrise. They got a
terrible scare when they see the water 'round 'em an' felt the motion
o' the ship. Both on 'em ran into the wire wheel an' that bore down the
stern o' the ship so the under wires touched the water. They made it
spin like a buzz saw an' got their clothes all wet. The ship went faster
when they worked the wheel, an' bime bye they got tired an' come out
on the main deck. The water washed over it a little so they clim up the
roof thet was a kin' uv a hurricane deck. It made the ship sway an' rock
fearful but they hung on 'midships, an' clung t' the handle that stuck
up like a top mast. Their big tails was spread over their shoulders,
an' the wind rose an' the ship went faster 'n faster. They could see the
main shore where the big woods come down t' the water 'n' all the while
it kep' a comin' nearer 'n' nearer. But they was so hungry didn't seem
possible they could live to git there.
'Ye know squirrels are a savin' people. In the day o' plenty they think
o' the day o' poverty an' lay by fer it. All at once one uv 'em thought
uv a few kernels o' corn, he hed pushed through a little crack in the
tin floor one day a long time ago. It happened there was quite a hole
under the crack an' each uv 'em bad stored some kernels unbeknown t'
the other. So they hed a good supper 'n' some left fer a bite 'n the
mornin'. 'Fore daylight the ship made her pott 'n' lay to, 'side liv a
log in a little cove. The bullfrogs jumped on her main deck an' begun
t' holler soon as she hove to: “all ashore! all ashore! all ashore!” The
two squirrels woke up but lay quiet 'til the sun rose. Then they come
out on the log 'et looked like a long dock an' run ashore 'n' foun' some
o' their own folks in the bush. An' when they bed tol' their story the
ol' father o' the tribe got up 'n a tree an' hollered himself hoarse
preachin' 'bout how 't paid t' be savin'.
'“An' we should learn t' save our wisdom es well es our nuts,” said a
sassy brother; “fer each needs his own wisdom fer his own affairs.”
'An the little ship went back 'n' forth 'cross the cove as the win'
blew. The squirrels hed many a fine ride in her an' the frogs were the
ferrymen. An' all 'long thet shore 'twas known es Frog Ferry 'mong the
squirrel folks.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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